Hepatitis

                                                                                                                                                         
Why talk about Hepatits and what on Earth does it have to do with the sex industry?!

1 in 12 people Worldwide have one type or other of Hepatitis. That's right up there with 1 in 8 having herpes. What does herpes and hepatitis have in common? You can get them both by coming in contact with someone in the sex industry whether it be transmitted from client to lady, or lady to client. With statistics like that we thought we should have a page dedicated to Hepatitis. However because Hepatitis is not really considered an STI, we couldn't put it in the STI section so I've plonked it here for you.

What is Hepatitis

According to our friends over at Wikipedia, "Hepatitis (plural hepatitides) implies injury to liver characterized by presence of inflammatory cells in the liver tissue". Hepatitis can either be self healing so causes no long lasting damage, or it can cause scarring of the liver which is not so good. Hepatitis can either be caused by Hepatitis Viruses like Hep A, B and C (which we will talk) about, or by damaging your liver with substances like alcohol. If your liver gets damaged, it impairs liver function which is responsible for things like production of bile (eeew I know but being able to digest is kind of cool), regulation of blood composition, screening of harmful substances and the most important... it process hormones, drugs and medications so your body can use them and then dispose of the bits it doesn't need - imagine your next panadol not working?!? Kiss goodbye to the joys of cialis and/or viagra! Your liver is incredibly important! Ugly BUT important.

Ok now I'm going to tell you exactly WHY it's imporant for you to know this stuff and how you can be exposed to it.

Hepatitis A with a freaky story!

Ok since everyone loves a freaky story, I'm going to tell you one. Once upon a time there was a sex worker. She use to try and be the best hooker she could be and wanted to make everyone smile at her. She use to pride herself on giving the best blow job you couldn't even begin to believe, so after doing lot's of research on the subject, she discovered that boys like to have their balls licked AND like to have their inner thighs kissed, caressed and licked. Soooo our little friend would get on the mission with her lovers to make them smile, but one day our little friend either kissed someone's dick, licked someone's balls or thigh and it happened! She contracted Hepatitis A! Now it was no big deal to her because she didn't get any symptoms and didn't even find out she had contracted it until 3 months after the fact when she had her usual STI screen and they tested her for HepA. It was quite a shock to her to find out she had the antibodies for it! She wondered how all of this was possible and then she found out the following things...

How Hepatitis A is transmitted from client to sex worker or sex worker to client

HepA is transmitted via fecal-oral route, which means you can either get it by eating contaminated food or in our little friends case, anal/oral sex. She may not have rimmed her clients (licking their bottoms), but she did lick around their balls, and lick their inner thighs where fecal matter (pooh) could be lurking. So for sex workers they are at risk if they rim and lick mens genitals. Clients are at risk if they rim their favorite lady, or lick around the genital area. Male sex workers in Sydney are actually given free HepA vaccinations, but for some reason female sex workers are not considered at risk and have to buy their if they want to be vaccinated.

How could she not tell she had HepA when she had it?

Wth Hepatitis A, 90% of people don't actually get sick or get symptoms. The time when you get it and when you may manifest symptoms is between 2 and 6 weeks. It does not have a chronic stage and does not cause permanent liver damage which is all good news of course. Once you contract HepA, your immune system makes antibodies which means you can never be infected again.

How do you minimise the chances of contracting HepA in the sex industry

1. If you're going to do any rimming or give anyone a headjob, use a dental dam http://sensualdownunder.wik.is/Health/Safer_Sex_Supplies/Dams
2. If you can afford it, get a HepA vaccination. Last time I check it cost around $80 - $90 and is injected by your local GP
3. If you're travelling to Asia or some other exotic location and indulging in the local industry, just be aware Hepatitis A is more prevalent in these areas where hygiene standard are not as good as they are in Australia. Be careful about rimming or giving your lovely working lady a headjob while over there
4. golden showers and scat fetish could be an issue
5. don't stick your fingers or sex toys in toys in your mouth if they have been around someone's naughty bits :)

So what's the big deal if chances are it wont make you sick?

It's as bigger deal as you make it of course. For the sex workers I have spoken to who have contracted it, it was the fact they contracted a pooh based thing that was the drama - it kind of grossed them out. The major thing with it is though the word HEPATITIS carries such a stigma and is such a scary word, it kind of felt terrifying to them to know they had a dose of it. It's really unfortunate that for most people the first thing that springs to mind is they Yellow Contaminated Waste bins when they hear Hepatitis. If you contract Hepatitis, I promise you, you are NOT contaminated waste.

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is the most infectious bloodborne pathogen known. Right now I have freaked you out and got your attention, let me prey on that hehehee. Only about 30% of people do not get sick from Hepatitis B (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/Hepatitis/b/fact.htm) so it's a good idea to be aware of it because it can cause serious liver damage if you do contract it.

How Hepatitis B is transmitted from client to sex worker or sex worker to client

Hepatitis B is all about Blood and happens when the blood of an infected person, enters the blood stream of someone who's not. This means that HepB can be transmitted sexually but you minimise the risks if you use a condom, by sharing injecting equipment with injecting drug user's, or from mother to child during birth. This means you're at rish if you're someone who likes to dabble in injecting drugs with a lady or a lady likes to dabble with you, if you don't use condoms for sex, if you use a toothbrush that is not fresh out of it's wrapper when at your ladies house, then you are at greater risk of Hepatitis B.

How do you minimise the chances of contracting HepB in the sex industry

1. if you are injecting drugs while engaging with someone in the industry, use all of your own equipment
2. use condoms for all sex acts particularly anal and any rougher sex you may have
3. only ever use a toothbrush to freshen up if it's your own, or if you take it freshly out a sealed wrapper yourself (I steal them from hotel rooms in case someone wants to use one and have them on display so people don't have to sneak and use mine)
4. be very careful if you do peircings or engage in any sexual act that could involve blood being spattered about
5. ladies do not brush your teeth right before a booking if you do BBBJs
6. be careful when fingering someone if you have a manicure
7. always use a condom for full service sex - you would never be able to tell if a lady has her periods because we use sea sponges
8. use condoms on all sex toys especially if you're sticking them up someone's bottom
9. if you want to have a quick shave at the ladies house before you start smooching, ask her for a fresh razor, don't sneak and use hers. Ladies you just stay hairy - a bit of hair never killed a boy hehehee.
10. Get vaccinated - it's easy peasy but it hurts a bit, so you can have chocolate cake as a reward afterwards :)

Hepatitis C

According to the Hepatitis Council of NSW 1 in 100 people have HepC (http://www.hepatitisc.org.au/quickref/faq.html). I suppose the main group of people who have to be wary of HepC are people who visit people who inject drugs. The Hepatitis C Council states

"In Australia, past or present injecting drug use is the most common risk factor for HCV. The majority of people who have injected drugs have hepatitis C. Those people who inject and don't have hepatitis C are at great risk of infection."

If you are visiting street based sex workers, you need to be VERY careful if you wish to dabble in injecting with them. If you are playing at the high end of the market and injecting cocaine with a client or sex worker for the novelty factor, you need to be VERY careful.

Many many many street based sex workers don't necessarily perform sexual services as their number one job. They do many things for many people. Please be very careful if you wish to explore other menu items and need assistance in doing so.

How do you minimise the chances of contracting HepB in the sex industry

1. if you are injecting drugs while engaging with someone in the industry, use all of your own equipment and make yourself aware of how to clean up before, during and after yourself.
2. use condoms for all sex acts particularly anal and any rougher sex you may have
3. only ever use a toothbrush to freshen up if it's your own, or if you take it freshly out a sealed wrapper yourself (I steal them from hotel rooms in case someone wants to use one and have them on display so people don't have to sneak and use mine)
4. be very careful if you do peircings or engage in any sexual act that could involve blood being spattered about
5. ladies do not brush your teeth right before a booking if you do BBBJs
6. be careful when fingering someone if you have a manicure
7. always use a condom for full service sex - you would never be able to tell if a lady has her periods because we use sea sponges
8. use condoms on all sex toys especially if you're sticking them up someone's bottom
9. if you want to have a quick shave at the ladies house before you start smooching, ask her for a fresh razor, don't sneak and use hers. Ladies you just stay hairy - a bit of hair never killed a boy hehehee.
10. Get vaccinated - it's easy peasy but it hurts a bit, so you can have chocolate cake as a reward afterwards :)

Hepatitis C is a complicated little bugger. I cannot even begin to do it justice on this page so I'm going to put a link down the bottom to the Hepatitis C Council of NSW where you can read allll about it. They have brilliant Fact Sheets if you're curious that covers EVERYTHING so please have a look if it effects you or you're curious.

Summary

Ok in summary I suppose the thing to remember is Hepatitis does not mean contaminated waste. It is not a death sentence, it does not mean you're unclean or any of that other nasty stuff. The other thing to remember is not to panic if you're around blood and other bodily fluids. You really do need to go out of your way and do something "risky" to be at risk of HepB and HepC (such as injecting drugs with no harm reducation strategies in place). Get your Hep A and B vaccinations (especially if you're a sex worker) and be sensible in this insane world. I have listed lot's of ways to reduce the chances of transmission, but many of the ways I mentioned you could contract Hepatitis are low risk - except Hep A. I believe if you're a sex worker you're at medium - high risk of coming in contact with that one, but I'll save that fight for my next visit to Sydney Sexual Health Centre :)

ooow and the last thing is to remember that many people who have one or another of the different types of Hepatitis never know it. This means guys and girls alike should get tested for them on your next trip for a STI screen. For business men who don't get STI screens because they are embarassed or don't know how to ask yourDoctor for them, just say you are planning on going on a business trip and need to be vaccinated for Hep A and B. They have to test you for antibodies before they agree to inject you, so you can find out and get tested without telling your Doctor you see sex workers. All blood testing in Australia is free so it wont cost you a cent.

This is just a very brief overview of Hepatitis. Please see links below for start points on how to find out more. You'll find information can vary greatly from Country to Country so keep in mind the political stance some countries or organisations may have on certain issues, when weighing up the validity of information especially when it comes to the issue of HepC.

Important Contacts

Hepatitis C Council    http://www.hepatitisc.org.au/

Clinics you can go to for Blood Tests      http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/sexualhealth/getting_tested.html#clinics   

Wikipedia   http://www.wikipedia.org/

Wikipedia Hepatitis overview   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepatitis

Wikipedia Hepatitis A    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hep_A

Wikipedia Hepatitis B    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hep_b

Wikipedia Hepatitis C    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hep_c

The Safer Injecting Handbook online  - not the best resource I've ever seen, but the best I can find online at the moment  http://www.exchangesupplies.org/drug_information/the_handbooks/the_safer_injecting_handbook/saferinjhbk/risks.html